Power-transmission mechanism.



0. J BNSEN.

POWER TRANSMISSION MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED APR.2, 1909.

Patented Sept. 21, 1909.

WITNESSES.

" C'hvifiiiam Jew/.5 an.

ATTOR/VE CHRISTIAN JENSEN, OF PAL'MYRA, NEW JERSEY.

POWER-TRANSMISSION MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept.'21, 1909.

Application filed April 2, '1909. Serial No. 487,473.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHRISTIAN J ENSEN, residing at Palmyra, in thecounty of Burlington and State of New Jersey, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Power-Transmission Mechanisms, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention is an improved driving mechanism more particularly adaptedfor use in connection with rotary cylinder washing machines of that typewherein the cylinder is rotated first in one direction and then inanother direction. In washing machines of this type it is desirable inorder to obtain the best result that the number of revolutions of thecylinder in one direction he, as near as practicable, equal to thenumber of revolutions of the cylinder in the opposite direction. It isto accomplish this result that I have developed my present form of powertransmission mechanism.

My present invention embodies a pulley or driving shaft geared up with adriven shaft in such manner that by shifting a clutch on the drivenshaft the direction of rotation of such shaft may be reversed; means arealso provided for automatically shifting such clutch at intervals toeffect such reversing of the driven shaft. The driven shaft isoperatively connected to the cylinder shaft to operate it in unison withthe driven shaft.

More specifically my present invention embodies those novel details ofconstruction, combination and arrangement of parts all of which will befirst described and then be specifically pointed out in the appendedclaims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1, is a side elevation and part section of my invention. Fig. 2,is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, the cylinder casing, its shaftand shaft gear being shown in dotted lines.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in which like numerals ofreference indicate like parts in all of the figures, 1 designates awashing machine casing, 2, the cylinder shaft and 3 a gear thereon, allof which parts may be of the usual construction, as they, per so, formno part of my present invention.

In practice I provide a bracket 4 which is secured to one head of thecasing 1 and has bearings 55 and 66 for the driven shaft 7 and thedriving or pulley shaft 8, respectively.

The shafts 7 and 8 are geared together by gears 9 and 10 respectively,the gear 10 being fast on the shaft 8, while the gear 9 is loose on theshaft 7. This connection between the two shafts I shall hereinafter callthe forward or. direct gear connection, since a gear on one shaft meshesdirectly with a gear on the other shaft. The shafts 7 and 8 are alsogeared together by gears 11, 12 and 14, the gear 11 being loose on theshaft 7 and meshing with the gear or pinion 12 that turns loosely on thestub shaft 13, while the gear 14 is fast on the shaft 8, and meshes withthe gear 12. This connection between the shafts I shall hereinafter calla reverse or indirect gear connection since a gear on one shaft isconnected with a gear on the other shaft through the medium of a third,or intermediate gear.

The gears 9 and 11 have clutch members 15 and 16 respectively tocooperate with the shifting clutch member 17 that turns with the shaft 7and is slidable into engagement with one or the other of the clutchmembers 15 and 16 by a lever 18, pivoted at 19 to the bracket & andmoved by a second lever 20 pivoted at 21 to the bracket 4 and connectedto the lever 18 by a rod 22, as shown.

The lever 20 has a slot 23 to receive the crank 24 of the shaft 25 journaled in a bearing in the end of an arm 26 of the bracket 4. Thecrank shaft 25 carries a Worm gear 27 that meshes with a worm 28 on theshaft 8.

The shaft 7 may be operatively connected in any desired manner with thecylinder shaft 2, but for purposes of illustration I have shown theconnection made by a gear 29 on the shaft 7 and a gear 3 on the shaft 2.

Fast and loose pulleys 30 and 31, respectively, are carried by the shaft8 to receive the driving belt 32 that turns the shaft 8. A lever 3-1pivoted at 35 and weighted at 38 has a slot 36 through which it isconnected at 37 to rod 22. Rod 22 has a slot 33 through which pin 39passes.

Operation: When the belt 32 is on the pulley 30 (it may be shifted fromone pulley to another to stop and start the mechanism in any well knownmanner) the shaft 8 is set into rotation thereby turning the crank shaft25 through the worm 28 and gear 27 to rock the lever 20, andconsequently the lever 18 to shift the clutch 17 into engagement withfirst one clutch member 15, and then the other clutch member 16. Vhenthe clutch member 17 is in engagement with the clutch member 15 theforward or direct gear connection is in operation and when the clutchmember 17 is in connection with the member 16, the reverse or indirectgear connection is in operation. Thus the shaft 7 is rotated first inone direction and then in the other and consequently the motion of theshaft 7 is imparted to the cylinder shaft in first one direction andthen in the other without changing the direction of rotation of thedriving shaft 8. By properly proportioning the parts a greater or lesssweep of the levers 18 and 20 may be obtained and the time it takes theclutch member 17 to engage either clutch member 15 or 16 after leavingthe other, may thus be varied so that the time elapsing betweenreversals of the shaft 7, and consequently the cylinder shaft 2, may belengthened or shortened, as desired.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings it is thought the complete construction, operation andadvantages of my invention willbe readily understood by those skilled inthe art to which the invention appertains.

What I claim is: I

1. A driving shaft, a driven shaft, forward and reverse gear connectionsbetween said shafts, a device on the driven shaft for bringing either ofsaid gear connections into operation, means operated by the drivingshaft for partly actuating said device, and gravity operating means forcompleting the actuation of said device.

2. A driving shaft, a driven shaft, a plurality of sets of gearconnections between said shafts. a shifting clutch member on the drivenshaft for bringing either of said gear connections into operation, agravity actuated means for shifting said clutch members, and means onthe driving shaft for a. A drivmg shaft, a driven shaft, a-

plurality of sets of gear connections between said shafts, a shiftingclutch member on the driven shaft for bringing either of said gearconnections into operation, a lever for shifting said clutch, a crankshaft, gear connections between the crank shaft and the driving shaft,means connecting the crank shaft with the clutch shifting lever foractuating the same, said last named means comprising a pivoted leverconnected with the crank shaft and a link rod connecting said last namedpivoted lever with the clutch shifting lever.

CHRISTIAN JENSEN.

Witnesses:

WM. E. Hnnzs, GEO. WV. SHADE.

